All Clear Over Tokyo
by Tensukishi
Summary: The children lay down on a corner of the courtyard of the busy Sensō-ji temple, filled with the devout praying for an auspicious year ahead. They looked up to the clear sky, laughing at the peculiar menagerie of odd-shaped clouds floating about. Clear skies sure are a blessing, but sometimes, it could also mean the difference between life and death.
1. Chapter 1

I stirred the steaming porridge in the iron pot slowly, watching the smoke rise slowly from the brimming hot slush over the wooden stove. The smell of porridge filled the entire room, a change from the smell of boiled taro that we have been eating for the past few weeks. But today was a special treat, I have finally managed to afford rice with my meagre salary as a train conductor at the nearby train station. The sky was still dark, but it was already time to stir the children up from their slumber. It was late winter, and dawn is rather late, compared to other times. Still, Neru has to go to school.

I blew out the stove, and set the iron pot to cool on a rubber met atop our small, low table. Leaving it there, I slid the door open and exited our modest room into the hallway. I climbed up the stairs to the second storey of our humble abode, and opened the door to the only bedroom in the house. Neru-chan was still deep in slumber in a futon, while Lily-chan, was still nestled in her wooden cot, wrapped in layers of woolen blankets.

"Neru-chan, wake up it's already morning. You have to go to school don't you?" I said, shaking the still-sleepy eldest daughter of mine, who responded with a tired, grumpy moan.

"I've made porridge today for breakfast, if you don't wake up I'll have to throw it away." I continued.

In an instant, she nearly jumped out of the futon, all of a sudden wide awake, as if she hasn't been sleeping just a few short moments ago.

"Ah, porridge? Don't throw it away _okaa-san_, I want some!" she childishly cried out.

"Don't worry, I was just kidding!" I chuckled, that trick always worked, she really loved porridge. "The porridge is still hot, so go get ready and come down as soon as possible, and don't forget to roll up your futon." I reminded her.

I left the door open behind me, and proceeded to the balcony to hang up laundry, which I had just finished washing in the bath before making breakfast. I wrung dry some of the soaked pieces of clothes in the basket over the balcony, letting the water fall to the cold hard ground in the yard below. I took a few soaked kimono, mine, three of them, and hung them with brightly-coloured wooden pegs on the short clothing line spanning the entire width of the small balcony. There wasn't much space to hang our clothes to dry, but that didn't pose us much of a problem, since I wash and dry them out in lots. I took another few wet laundry items from the menagerie of clothes in the basket. Another one of my few winter kimonos, a used black long-sleeved _seifuku,_ Neru's, and a cheap, brown, children's coat I got from the garment shop the other day. It was winter, so I had to try to grab every little amount of faint sunlight to be able to dry all our laundry.

After finishing drying the clothes, I walked past the bath, which was occupied. Neru-chan was in the bath, taking a quick shower, as per the norm. I could hear the loud splashings of water coming from inside.

"Remember, don't waste a lot of water, get it?" I reminded Neru-chan as I walked past the closed door, who before the war, used to love taking showers, and used to use a lot of water.

I heard a muffled sound of agreement from her, so I proceeded to the next room, to pick up the sleeping Lily-chan from her cot. Neru's pink and white futon had already been rolled and tucked in neatly in the corner of the room. I bent down and swooped Lily-chan into my arms, and went out of the room.

I sighed to myself. It has been a while since Len-kun left for the war. The house seemed so gloomy and silent without him. He would usually wake up as early as me, around five, and help me around with the housework, he would usually help wake up the children and sometimes hang the clothes, while I cook and cleaned up the house. He would usually joke around light-heartedly with everyone, and he was very close to the children. I dare say that that both of the girls are closer to him than to me, even though I was the one who went through all the pain of labour to bring them into this world. Neru-chan, for instance, would look for her father the first thing she does after getting back from school in the afternoon. Father and daughter were inseparable; I remembered the many times he went to take Neru-chan out to the park or to see the river while I stayed at home, taking care of Lily-chan. He was always concerned about all three of us, and he would always work late at the municipal office in the city centre just to earn some extra money for the family.

I went down to the living room, put the sleeping Lily-chan on the floor in front of our low, wooden table. I knelt down on the floor and scooped the porridge into the three wooden bowls I had placed on the table earlier. If Len-kun was still here in Tokyo with us now, of course, life would be much easier. Now, he's somewhere far away, in a foreign land, dodging bullets and fighting for the good of the nation. That's what the government says. I sighed again, the war had been dragging on for years now, winter after winter had passed, and it seems like I will not be seeing him for some while, looking at how the war seems to be at a stalemate, and both countries were exhausting their own resources fighting. The air raid sirens at night were also going off more and more frequently, the last one happening just a few days ago. But no matter how long it might take me to finally see my dear husband, I will patiently wait for his return, and I will never forget those caring cerulean eyes and how he's always so kind to everyone. He has always been like that ever since we were young.

We first met when we were both around seven, huddling in the cold in the hall of the Sensō-ji in Asakusa . I still remember that day very clearly. It was the day of the Great Kanto Earthquake, September first, 1923 and all of Tokyo was ablaze.

I have managed to escape unscathed as I was in the yard of my house when the ground shook violently, around lunchtime. I slammed into the hard ground, losing my balance due to the vigorous shaking. I remember digging my fingers into the grass, desperate to hold on to something, amid all the chaos. The ground was shaking, wave after wave of shock came rolling by, and for some moments the ground moved up and down, like the ocean during a storm. I watched in horror as the familiar streetscape in front of my house turned into an utter wasteland, succumbing to the destructive force of the earthquake. I saw with my very own eyes the wooden houses across the street tumbling down like they were made of cards, the wooden beams and pillars supporting the structure cracking and splintering in half like matchsticks, and the heavy roofs came crashing down, crushing and trapping whoever was unlucky enough to be inside. The towering wooden telephone lines all fell, one by one, as each pulled the next, entangling their wires together, like dominoes, and came to rest on the street below. The sound of everything collapsing was deafening, my ears hurt for a while even after the quake stopped. I watched helplessly as the throngs of people who were on the busy street in front of me get trapped beneath the falling debris raining down on them like deadly hail. I saw how a young mother, a small child nestled in her arms tried to run away, but the shaking ground made her stumble and fall, and alas, if she were just a second faster of getting out of that spot she was on, she and her small child might still be alive today. I saw how the both of them were both knocked again to the ground, right in front of my yard, by a heavy telephone post. This time, it knocked them both down for good, crushed to death by the sheer weight of the telephone pole. Everything, everything around me was collapsing.

Tokyo continued to shake for what seemed to be an eternity, but finally stopped. I was finally able to take a few deep breaths, and was finally able to regain my balance. I stood up slowly, not used to the ground finally being still. I looked around, and still couldn't comprehend what was happening. Frozen, I surveyed the area around me. The street in front of me has become unrecognisable, just a jumbled heap of debris and twisted bodies. Around me, I saw people crawling up from the debris, some injured, some unscathed, but all moving around. At that time, I was too shaken to even think of a reason why.

I was miraculously unscathed, not even a cut or bruise on my palms as I dug and grabbed the blades of grass. Only my dark blue sakura-print kimono was soiled with dirt and dust blown by the wind. Then I turned around to the only thing I haven't seen yet, as my back was facing it during the entire period of the quake, my house.

The two-story house was a heap of broken wood and tile. The first story was crushed, a messy pile of broken beams, paper walls and doors but the second storey was still intact, miraculously. Then it hit me. My family, where were they? Were they alright? My mother, father and my little brother, all of them!

"_Okaa-san! Okaa-san!" _I cried out with all my heart, still shaking in fear, if I hadn't done that, I might have not realized my mother, lying there, in the rubble.

"Miku-chan!" I heard my mother call my name, in a half shouting, half gasping manner.

I turned around and I saw my mother, lying in the rubble in what would have been the front door. I went up to her, crying in a mixture of fear and relief. For a moment I was happy, that I found her, and I only managed to touch her warm hands, sobbing, still reeling in from the shock. I looked up, and only then I saw how grave and hopeless the situation was.

My mother was trapped at the waist between the beams of our door. I teared up even more and looked at her. Her cyan hair was in a mess, blowing in the dry wind, along with the tattered sleeves of her peach kimono. I held her hand.

"_Okaa-san!_ I'll get you out! I promise!" I said, letting the tears fall from my cheeks, dripping onto her soft, delicate hand, the hand that had raised me from a small child with such loving and tender care.

I tugged and tugged at her hand, but still she would not come out. No matter how hard I try, she wouldn't budge an inch.

"Don't worry _Okaa-san,_ stay here, I'll get you some help!" I said to my trapped mother.

I ran across the yard to the debris-ridden street. It wasn't exactly clogged up, there was still a thoroughfare where people could still pass through. There were many people on the street, all rushing about in a panicked frenzy. People crawled out of their dishevelled, ruined houses, and all seemed to be rushing in the same direction, down the street, towards the western part of the city. I approached the seemingly countless number of people rushing about, seeking help from them.

"Help me! My mother is trapped!" I shouted many, many times, to try to at least get someone's attention.

But my pleas for help were ignored by the mass of people, all rushing like a swollen, fast-moving river during the monsoon season. All were moving swiftly, not even turning to look back, and fear was evidently etched onto their faces. My voice was drowned out in a sea of hysterical screaming and shouting. Then I saw it, the thick plume of smoke rising from the east. Further down the street, I could see house after house exploding and catching fire. The fire spread fast, and it was already a few blocks away.

I ran as fast as I could across the yard to my mother, and held her hand again.

"_Okaa-san,"_ I said, nearly choking on my tears, "The houses down the street are on fire!" and I continued sobbing hopelessly.

To this, she looked at me solemnly and instructed me in a serious tone on what to do next.

"Miku-chan, I want you to listen to me carefully. Your younger brother is upstairs in his room, I want you to climb up into the room and take him out of his cot. Then run as fast as possible, and don't you dare look behind, you understand me?"

"But- but I can't leave you here!" I cried out to her, my tears were falling even more rapidly, streams of it cascading down my soft cheeks.

Then I felt the dry wind blowing against me. It was strong, and hot, and I could see some sparks flying in the air at rapid speed. I could see the bright flames light up the sky in the corner of my eye. They were getting nearer.

"Miku-chan," she said with a gentler voice. "Please, you're a strong girl, I know you can do it. Go, take care of your brother all right?" she continued, and with her right hand caressed my wet cheeks, to which I responded with more tears.

"I'll be all right." She tried to assure me.

"All right, _okaa-san."_ I tearfully bid farewell to her, and instantly climbed up the rubble to try to reach the second storey.

It wasn't exactly hard, since the second storey was now impossibly low. I looked into the open window, expecting to find my little brother in his cot, crying. Instead, I saw that half the room was ablaze. The smoke was thick and my eyes singed, and I coughed violently and involuntarily. Still, I steeled myself, and squinted my teary, irritated, eyes, to attempt to see into the room. In the corner where the cot is, I could only see the dark silhouette of a young baby in the midst of the fierce bright orange flames. He wasn't moving.

In panic, I climbed down the rubble and went back to my mother.

"_Okaa-san!" _was the only thing I could mutter as I knelt beside my mother.

"Where is your brother? I told you to run!" she shouted at me, scolding me.

But when I looked up, I could see that she was crying too.

"He- he's-"I said between hiccupped sobs "Dead."

I saw mother looking at me with shock and dread. She was silent for a while. The wind changed direction, slowing down the spread of the fire.

"I'm really sorry," I apologised, "I'm sorry I failed you _okaa-san. _I can't leave you." I said, clutching her bigger hand between my two smaller palms.

"You have never failed me Miku-chan," she said, a weak smile forming on her lips. "You were always my sweet little jewel. Now, go, while you still can."

"No-no…" I said softly, "Never! I will never leave you! I'll die with you!" I wept.

I could feel the ground getting hotter. Yet, at that moment, my mother pulled me with her arms and held me close. She hugged me for a brief while, and I could hear her sobbing under her breath. The long dangling sleeves of her kimono blanketed me, and I wish that moment could last forever. The last hug I would ever receive from my dear mother. This was farewell, forever.

"I love you very much Miku-chan," she said, weeping, but I was too absorbed in sobbing to respond.

"You are very precious to me, and I want you to live on, so please, please listen to me. For the last time." She said again, in a desperate voice, her cheeks were wet, and her sobs were getting louder.

She then let go of me, and with her hands, she unfastened something at her collar. It was the gold necklace she received as a wedding gift from my father. Around me, I could hear the howling of the wind growing louder and louder.

"I want you to take this," she said, pushing it into my right palm, reached up to me and pecked me on the cheek, "And now, I want you to run as fast as you can… and don't look back." She said.

Painfully, I nodded. The ground was getting unbearably hot now. Slowly, I stood up and turned around. I was about to run, but I turned my head around to glance at her one final time.

"I'll be okay!" she shouted.

I was young, but I know for sure how that was an obvious lie. The wind was starting to blow this way again, and was getting stronger and stronger by the moment. The second floor was already entirely ablaze, and small heated goblets of fire had already started to light up the rubble my mother was trapped under.

"_Sayonara, okaa-san." _I bid her farewell, and left a quickly as I could.

I took off onto the street, as fast as my legs could carry me, clutching to the necklace tightly. I ran, and felt the wind blowing and howling. I had ran for about a few metres when I heard a loud crash. I turned around, even when a large part of me told me not to, and to just keep running without looking back. But I did, I looked back.

What I saw was a horror. The entire house had completely collapsed, and was nothing but a raging flame now, burning high into the sky. Although the roar of the fire and howling of the wind blocked me from hearing anything, I somehow felt I could hear the shrill painful screams of my mother, burning in the fire, turning into ashes. I felt like turning back, but then I realized I was holding the necklace in my hand.

_I want you to live on_

I couldn't stop weeping watching the flames engulf the entire house. But after seeing the flames creeping closer and the wind's searing heat blowing into me, I turned around, and ran. I ran, without looking back. I felt like that was the hardest decision I have ever made in my life.

I remembered running all the way to the other side of town, crossing the bridge across the Sumida. I remembered seeing the Metropolitan Police Department Building in flames as I ran through Marunouchi. Unlike my neighbourhood, the streets in Marunouchi were packed with refugees trying to escape the flames. The only thing I could do was follow the flow of people, walking fast, for I was afraid of being trampled underneath their feet. All around me, the buildings were reduced to rubble. What used to be the wealthier district of the town now has been turned into debris.

Suddenly, I heard a large growling sound in the background. I turned around, like everyone in the crowd, and looked behind. I couldn't see anything, there were many people blocking my view. But then, I heard the people around me chatter excitedly. I overheard some of the conversations, apparently they have spotted a dark storm cloud in the distance, indicating that rains were coming shortly. Everyone was chattering happily, but deep in my heart, I felt that the rains have come too late.

I continued following the flow of people, until I grew tired. We soon entered a large square, and I decided to step out of the crowd, and sat down on the concrete square, not being in the way of the streams of people walking, going out of the city, presumably.

I looked at my surroundings, and I realised that it was strangely familiar. It took me a while to register it, but I realised I was in front of the Sensō-ji temple, in the heart of Asakusa, the district north of Marunouchi. I remembered it, going there every New Year with my family to wish for an auspicious year ahead. I teared again, I couldn't help but think of my parents and my younger brother.

I sat, tucking my knees close, and buried my face into them, soaking my soiled kimono with my salty tears. Tears of bitter pain and sadness. I sobbed there for what seemed like hours, until I felt cold drops of water on my back. I looked up to the sky, it was really dark, and droplets of cold rain were starting to fall. They fell slowly at first, but then it got heavier, and the wind got stronger too. I got up from the ground and ran to the shelter of the temple, running through the large _Hozomon _with its famous, large lantern hanging ominously above the archway. I ran through the large empty courtyard, past the purification fountain and the large incense stick holder. Finally, I entered the sheltered main hall, with its doors open.

When I entered, they weren't many people around, just a few people huddled in the corners of the large hall. At the front of the hall, was the large and gaudy altar, with candles placed on it. There were also a few Buddhist religious statues and icons, but I didn't really pay much attention to it, all I cared about was that I have found shelter and possibly a place to stay for the night. I was exhausted after all that running, so I sat and leaned against one of the wooden walls, and fell asleep on the spot, against the sound of the heavy rain battering the ground outside.

I wasn't sure how long I slept there, but I remembered waking up to the sound of loud chatter. When I looked around me, I saw that there were a lot of people in the hall, and by now, the whole hall was filled with people, all seeking shelter from the storm outside. I heard the sound of clapping thunder, and was assured that the storm hasn't passed yet. I scanned through the crowd, looking for familiar faces, because I was terrified of being alone. Then my thoughts reverted to my father. I stood up, walking around the entire hall. The entire hall was lit by candles, yet it was still freezing cold. I frantically searched through the entire hall, but could not find him. I gave up, and sat down again at the same corner.

And that's when I met him, those caring cerulean eyes, gentle smile and soft blonde hair. Kagamine Len.

I was huddled at the corner, wrapping my arms around my knees, in an attempt to keep myself warm. That was when I saw the two blonde children approaching me. One was a boy, and the other child, trailing behind him while tugging at his sleeves, was a girl. The both of them looked at me, with matching cerulean eyes. The boy was wearing a tucked in long-sleeved white shirt and long brown chequered trousers. The timid-looking girl was wearing a knee-length pink and white dress, her shoulder-length hair put in place with clips and a ribbon. They appeared to be from a rich family, but they looked really dishevelled and shaken nonetheless, especially the girl. Fear and shock were evidently written on her pale face.

I didn't realize the both of them were approaching me, I thought they were just walking past. Just like how everybody else was just sitting quietly, huddled together with their family members. Then, the both of them were standing in front of me, and the boy handed me a grey, woolen blanket.

"Th-thank you." I said, taking the blanket from the smiling boy, and draping the blanket around my body.

"Ah, it's okay, we have two blankets, and my sister and I can share one together." He said cheerfully, "What's your name?" he asked eagerly, with his large cerulean eyes shining in excitement, looking at me.

"Miku. Hatsune Miku." I stuttered, the temperature was freezing, and I still could hear the storm raging outside, even with the heavy doors and shuttered windows tightly closed and latched.

"Ah, nice meeting you Miku-chan! My name is Kagamine Len, and this is my sister, Rin. We'll be going off now." The blonde boy said, and after turning around and making a small wave, the both of them continued to walk off in the other direction, to the other side of the hall.

I watched them, huddled in my newly-acquired blanket, moving to the other end of the hall. I saw them huddle together, in a distant corner of the hall. I was lonely with no one to talk to in a room full of strangers, so I decided to move over to their side and sit together with them. Clutching both blanket and necklace in my right hand, I walked across the hall to the two Kagamine siblings, and sat beside them.

The fact that I suddenly came up and sat there beside them seemed to startle Len, who was sharing a blanket with his sister, who was now deep in slumber.

"Oh hi there Miku-chan, do you need anything?" Len-kun asked, his eyes wide in surprise looking at me.

"Erm… No, it's just that… I feel really lonely." I replied, bringing my knees close to me.

"Where's your family Miku-chan, did you come here alone?" he asked again, with a tone of concern in his voice.

_Where's my family…_ The scene of the burning house and my trapped mother replayed in my mind. I teared up, the memory was too painful for me to bear.

"_Okaa-san… Okaa-san..." _was the only thing I managed to say, sobbing unconsolably.

I think I was weeping there for five minutes, with a confused Len watching me silently, not knowing what to do.

Suddenly, I felt a warm hand on my shoulder. I looked up, and in front of me, an old man was kneeling, his wrinkled lips curled into a warm and comforting smile. He was wearing an orange robe, so I guess he must be a monk at the temple. As soon as he saw me look up, he took something from his hand, and put it in my empty left hand. He then smiled again, patted my head gently and lovingly, and then departed. I watched him with surprise as he walked around the hall, handing out blankets and hot tea to the people in the hall.

Then I looked at down at my left hand. In it, the monk has placed a small wooden doll, clad in a traditional gaudy kimono and headdress, typical of an _oiran_. I was speechless and surprised at the gift, and I just stared at the doll, not knowing what to do. All of a sudden, Len-kun took the doll from my hand, and started moving it around.

"Look Miku-chan, I'm moving!" Len-kun tried to mimic a woman's voice, while he played with the doll in front of me.

I smiled for a while. That was how I knew what kind of person Len-kun was, a cheerful, positive boy, always concerned about other people. These attributes sticked with him even after he grew up. After we finished playing with the doll, he put the doll aside and looked at me.

"Miku-chan, I'm sorry if I made you cry." He told me, looking very guilty.

"No, it's okay, it wasn't your fault. I'm sorry for making you worry." I muttered.

"Um, Miku-chan, did something happen to your mother? You were crying out for her just now." Len-kun asked innocently.

I breathed in heavily. I guess I could tell him, I just needed someone to talk to.

"She died." I said in a short, curt breath.

Len-kun fell silent, then suddenly he asked in a curious tone:

"Miku-chan, what's 'died'?"

"It's when people don't move and breathe anymore, and they leave you forever and never come back." I replied.

That was what my mother told me about two years ago, when we attended my uncle's funeral. He killed himself after realising he had gambled away all his money and his family were in poverty because of his actions. Then I realised that Len-kun wasn't saying anything for quite some time.

"_Okaa-san… Otto-san…" _he said softly, and then he began to cry.

"I don't want them to leave me…" he muttered between sobs.

I didn't know how to cheer him up, so at first I only watched silently as he wept, but then I wrapped my arms around him and I hugged him tightly. I also began crying, thinking of my mother and brother. I also thought of my father, whom I probably think has died too, since I saw how the fire was the fiercest in Downtown Tokyo, where my father worked. So there we were, two children, hugging each other, soaking in tears, realizing the loss of everyone we held dear. I kept holding him, until he fell asleep, crying himself unconscious. I let go of him, wrapping himself in the woollen blanket he has given me earlier.

I sat there, beside him, watching him sleeping peacefully. His face looked free of troubles now, when just a few moments ago he was weeping. I sat there for what seemed like an hour, I wasn't really sure, I have lost track of the time.

Then, I overheard the conversation of a few people nearby.

"Did you hear? The typhoon winds turned the raging fires in the downtown area into deadly firestorms. I saw them with my own eyes from across the river. Nobody could have survived that burning hell." I heard an old lady cackle.

"Oh dear, my husband works in the downtown area!" said a younger woman in shock and fear.

I leaned back on the wall. That was it then. My father's dead too. I was all alone now, I had no one to turn to, nowhere to go.

Then the old man who had given me the toy doll appeared again. This time, he was carrying a bowl of steaming soup, and laid in on the floor in front of the three of us.

"We don't have much, so please share it with your two friends over here." The old man said, "I am Abbot Yamada, if you need anything please feel free to approach me." He continued, introducing himself.

"Thank you." I managed to thank the abbot.

"What is your name dear child?" Yamada-sama said.

"Hatsune Miku, Yamada-sama." I replied.

"Ah, I'll talk to you later Miku-chan! I'm very busy right now. So please, enjoy the soup." Yamada-sama said cheerfully.

As soon as he arrived, he disappeared behind a door beside the altar. My attention then turned from the abbot to the soup. My stomach was growling, I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, and I was starving. I didn't know what time it was, as all the doors and windows were shut tight. I looked down into the bowl Yamada-sama had laid in front of me. It was a wooden bowl, and it was filled with clear soup. I picked up the bowl, lifting the rim to my lips. I sipped the hot soup slowly, and after all that I've been through, the hot, comforting soup felt like a little piece of heaven. I continued sipping, until I stopped myself after drinking a third of it, I had to think of the two siblings too. I put the bowl of soup on the ground in front of me. I shook Len's shoulder, trying to rouse him from his slumber.

"Len-kun, wake up, there's some hot soup for us to drink." I said, while my hand tried to shake him out of his sleep.

He woke up slowly, rubbing his eyes and then finally sitting up. He also woke up his sister who had been sleeping all this while. They both took turns drinking from the soup, little by little, until every drop of soup in the bowl was gone. Len-kun turned to me after finishing the soup and asked me where it came from. I told him exactly what happened, that the abbot placed the soup in front of me telling me to share the soup between the three of us. He seemed to be satisfied with the answer and didn't pursue the matter anymore. There was some silence between us so I invited him to chat.

"Well, so how did you end up here? Here, in this temple? When I reached here there were only a few people, and I was quite sure I didn't see you two in the crowd." I asked.

"Oh, well. After the quake, our nanny quickly grabbed us and rushed out of the house. The entire district was catching fire and with the both of us clutching her hands, she brought us all the way from our house, near the Imperial Palace to Asakusa. When we got here, she dropped us off at the main hall, instructing us to go inside. She told us that she was sorry she had to leave us, since she had to go and look for her family. Then she went against the dense flow of people, and ran towards downtown." Len-kun told me.

"Then what about your parents?" I asked.

"Well, while the house was crumbling down , the three of us managed to run out, since we were near the main door. When our entire house collapsed, the three of us tried to remove the rubble to find my parents, but when we found them, they weren't moving. So I guess I won't see them forever, like what you said." Len-kun whimpered softly.

I felt guilty for making him talk about such things, so I decided to change the topic to a happier subject. We talked about ourselves, our backgrounds as if the devastating earthquake that had killed our parents never happened. I learned that he lived with his parents, Rin and their nanny in a mansion near the Imperial Palace, in the south-western area of Tokyo. I also learned that he was the same age as me, and that both he and Rin-chan were fraternal twins. He goes to an elementary school in the same district, and told me how he loves school. He also informed me that his twin sister, Rin-chan was just very shaken from the magnitude of the situation, and was too shocked to speak. So she wasn't mute, like what I thought. Then we talked about New Year's and Festivals and our hobbies. We were so absorbed in our conversation, that for a moment, we nearly forgot that the entire city had been flattened by the earthquake, the three of us had become orphans and that we had nowhere to go. It just felt like a normal introduction, like I had just made a new friend at school. His cerulean eyes were bright with excitement when I saw them, and his joy made me smile too.

That was how I met Len-kun, the boy who would change my life forever. That fateful day, September first, in the great hall of the Sensō-ji in Akasuka.

"_Okaa-san…"_ I heard Neru say from across the table.

That snapped me back to reality. Neru was already all ready for school. Dressed in her black, long-sleeved winter _seifuku_, she was seated opposite me on the table. In her hands, she held out an empty wooden bowl.

"Can I have some more porridge?" she asked.

"Sure. Eat up, Neru-chan… I made this especially for you." I replied, smiling at my daughter, whose blonde hair is tied in a ponytail on one side of her head.

I scooped up a ladleful of porridge and filled up her bowl. As Neru-chan ate, I woke Lily-chan up, my four-year old toddler and got her to eat her breakfast. I also slowly ate mine, the porridge was already lukewarm, but that was fine with me. We only had boiled taro for the past few weeks and the three of us were all perfectly tired of it.

"Oh _oka-_" Neru said, while stuffing porridge into her mouth.

"Neru-chan, how many times have I already told you not to speak with your mouth full?" I snapped.

"Sorry." Neru apologised, and quickly gulped down whatever porridge she had in her mouth.

"Okay, so what is it?" I asked.

"Sensei asked the class to inform her whether we had family members in the countryside, so that we can evacuate easily. If not then, she said that we had to leave with her, with the remainder of the class who don't have any family members in the countryside to house them. We'll be leaving on the afternoon of March 9th." Neru-chan continued.

I had expected that, I heard from the radio a few weeks back, orders from the government to evacuate children from the major cities to the countryside.

"No, we don't. I guess you'll have to evacuate with your teachers and classmates then." I replied her.

"Oh okay, I'll tell sensei that then." Neru said, and picking up her utensils went up to the basin to wash them.

I wiped some porridge off Lily-chan's cheeks and cleaned up her dripping chin. I smiled, she had always been a messy eater. When I turned around, Neru-chan had already left the kitchen, and went into the hallway, leaving the sliding door wide open. I got up from the floor and peeked stood in the hallway. Neru-chan was quickly putting on her socks and shoes.

"When you're dismissed later go straight to the Shions' household alright? I have work today." I intstructed her.

"Alright _okaa-san, _I will." She replied.

I watched as the door slam shut as she left, and heard the sound of the keys locking it secure, before returning to the living room where Lily-chan was eating. Unfortunately, without supervision, Lily has created quite a mess, spilling splotches of porridge on the wooden table and another fair bit on the floor. I see that she was finished with her food and playing with her spoon in the remnants of her porridge. I bent down, picked up the used utensils and brought them to the basin to wash. There was still a fair bit of porridge left in the pot, just enough for dinner for the three of us, so I emptied all the porridge into a large bowl and covered the top of the bowl with a similar bowl, forming a sphere shape, to prevent insects from entering and ruining the porridge, before placing it into the cupboard.

Then I went back to the living room, and wiped the floor and table free of porridge spillage. Lily-chan was now stumbling and walking around the room in an excited manner, typical of a small child her age. I returned to the kitchen, and took out the bowls and spoons from the basin, and dried it out on a rack.

As I was doing so, I caught a glimpse of the calendar hung up against the wall. It was March 1st , 1945. Just another day of the late winter of 1945. Just another day without the warmth of summer.

Just another day without Len-kun in sight.


	2. Chapter 2

Ah hello,

First of all I would like to thank all of you for reading my story, I really put in a lot of effort in research and reading survivor's accounts to try to make the setting of the story as realistic as it was and sticking to the original annals of history. I really appreciate all of you for the time you spent reading my first chapter, I'm just really amazed that the first chapter itslef garnered more favourites than my other story, which had already been going on for like eight chapters. (Yes please, I would really be happy if you checked out my other story, **Dance of the Cherry Blossoms**, thanks alot in advance!)

Secondly, I would like to apologise in advance if I offend anyone due to some sensitive content in this chapter, it was not my intention to do this and I'm deeply sorry if you felt offended in any way by my writing. I assure you I was trying to make the setting as realistic as possible, I have read up on various sources about these issues and I hope you will forgive me.

So please, do take the time to read this chapter, and it would be really helpful if you gave me feedback about it, like what are your opinions about it and such.

Thanks!

Disclaimer:  
This chapter contains discussions on topics that may be slightly racially insensitive. This is written only to better explain the story of that period of time, namely the late Taishō period and early Shōwa period, and is not meant to be an attack towards any race or religion.

* * *

"Thank you so much." I muttered my thanks, as I handed Lily, all dressed in a fresh change of clothes to Shion Meiko, my next-door neighbour who would take care of Lily while I went to work at the train station.

"It's no problem, what time would you come to collect her today, Kagamine-san?" Sakine-san asked me, holding Lily lovingly in her arms.

"I'll be back by around five today, sorry to trouble you." I said, bowed, and took my leave.

I descended down the low stairs in front of the Shions' door, and got into the street. I got out early, my shift started at nine, but now it was only seven-thirty. But sure, it took a while to get from our house in Yoshiwara to Asakusa station, well, in Asakusa. It was a chilly morning, and the sunlight was dim, it was winter anyway. But fortunately the worst of the freezing winter has passed, but still, it was cold, but at least bearable. The mornings were also starting to get brighter, signs that spring was right around the corner, and so was good luck, according to the more superstitious of the population. The newly-installed electric street lamps also helped too. The streets were already starting to bustle with activity. People are starting to move about, getting out of their houses. Street vendors, selling a menagerie of items were wandering both ways of the street, from cloth sellers selling garments sown by hand to scrawny, raggedly-dressed men collecting scrap metals. A man, in a straw hat, carrying a stretching bamboo pole across his shoulders, with a heavy baskets hanging from both sides at thigh-level walked past me in the opposite direction, down the street towards the Sumida district, across the river.

"_Udon_! Fresh hot _Udon_!" the man shouted, as he walked past row by row of wooden houses with dark blue-tiled sloped roofs.

Housewives, some wearing white aprons, began to open their windows on the upper floors, letting the fresh morning breeze to enter their homes, circulating the air inside, and letting any unpleasant odours out. They also brought along with them their baskets of laundry, clipping them from their windows and some, like me, hung them up along their second-storey or third-storey balconies jutting out into the street, overhanging like the canopies of trees, just like the untouched forests of inland, rural Honshu. The breeze blew stronger for a moment, and the laundry hung out to dry began to flutter in the wind. A silk scarf broke free from its confinement of pegs and managed to fly, fluttering like a butterfly just out of its cocoon for a few brief moments, before the lady who put it on the clothing line managed to reach out from the balcony rather precariously and managed to grab hold of the red fabric. I walked through a busy intersection, with people coming in from all directions, before finally making it through and walked along a street lined with brothels. One could tell them apart from the rest of the buildings as their first floor façade was slightly different. It functioned like a display, instead of just normal windows with shutters, there lies a full length window, from the ceiling to the ground. Instead of shutters, it looked more like a large cage, with thin wooden beams at regular intervals. It looked exactly like a display for goods, except its purpose wasn't to display goods or handicrafts or religious relics, inside, there lined rows of _women _seated elegantly on silk cushions, kneeling gracefully, their hands placed on their knees. Their faces show no sign of expression, and they just stared blankly into the street, their entire faces masked in thick makeup, white powder and dark crimson lipstick, to cover up any signs of imperfections. Their long black hair were perfectly straightened and combed, tied elaborately with a bronze or silver pin, at the back of their heads. Outside the cage-like display, stood a few men, wealthy by their appearance and clothing, and a woman stood by the wooden entrance, wearing a thick and gaudy kimono, her hair tied up neatly. She must be the madam of the brothel, I supposed, since she looked considerably older than the girls in the display, and more respectable too. One of the men walked up to her, and pointed at one of the young beauties seated down quietly with a rough index finger, and mumbled something into the older madam's ear. With that, the madam shouted the woman's the name in a hoarse but loud and strong voice, the young woman the man had chosen. Upon hearing her name, the young woman rose up slowly, still maintaining her grace and elegance, and disappeared behind the door on the wall behind the caged display, covered with a crimson red silk door curtain. The wealthy man handed from what I saw, a bunch of notes to the madam. The madam stood by the side of the closed wooden entrance to the brothel and counted the notes in her hands. Satisfied with the payment, she smiled a withered sly smile and let the man in.

For these women were not women, they were merely commodities, patronised by wealthy men for their enjoyment. They were not people, they had no feelings, and even if they possessed such things, they were disregarded and invalidated by those surrounding them, because they were not seen as persons, but feeble dolls and puppets. I thanked God silently as I walked past for not ending up like those women behind the caged display.

I walked past row upon row of these pleasure houses. There was nothing to be surprised about them; this was Yoshiwara, after all. I held my grey conductor's hat down as a sudden gust of wind blew down the street, sending my ponytails fluttering. You could smell the burning incense in the air, coming from the rows of establishments in the pleasure quarter, to mask unpleasant odours. The incense didn't do the job anything near decent. The odour of sweat and alcohol reeked out of the open windows of the brothels. Well of course, it's no surprise why housing in Yoshiwara is cheap. The thing is, it's walled, since it's an ancient part of the city, and most of the houses are made from wood and paper. The only reason why Len-kun and I bought a house in Yoshiwara was because it's at an affordable price, and the houses are quite decent, in my opinion. The best we could afford with Len-kun's salary actually, but since he'd left for the war, I had to take up a job too, to support our family.

It had been probably been raining earlier, there were dark grey clouds in the sky. It was still dim, but you could clearly see the dark rainclouds hanging above, in the sky. My boots splashed in a puddle, sending splotches of dirty water up my black stockings. I was wearing my uniform, a long-sleeved grey coat, buttoned up at the front, a brown skirt, black stockings, boots, and not to mention my conductor's hat, resting just nicely above my teal hair.

"Wow, you look beautiful." I remembered him saying, when he first saw me change into my uniform on my first day of work, about two months ago, a few days before Len-kun left.

I remembered giggling slightly and how he blushed shyly and looked away, while we were seated on the opposite ends of the coffee table, having breakfast with the children. After finishing breakfast, we went out, to go to work together, after Neru leaving earlier for school and after dropping Lily off at the Shions'.

It was just a normal winter morning, just like today, Yoshiwara starting to show the first few signs of morning activity. Although he could have just taken the train from the station nearer to our house to his workplace in Ginza, he chose to walk with me all the way to Asakusa. Both stations were on the same line, so it wouldn't matter, he said. I remembered we were walking through Yoshiwara, the usual brothels and houses and establishments, when suddenly, I felt him draw me closer to him, and I felt my small hand in his. His gentle grip felt warm, especially on a cold winter's morning, but still, we were in public, and such behaviour was frowned upon by conservative Japanese society, deeply rooted in culture and tradition.

"Len-kun, please." I said, even though I very much loved the warm touch of his hand. "We are in public. This is not appropriate." I continued, pulling my hand away as gently as I could, so as not to hurt his feelings.

"It's okay, we're husband and wife after all." He said sweetly yet stubbornly, and grabbed my hand again.

Again, I pulled my hand away.

"What are people going to say? Oh look, the Kagamines are acting indecent in public, oh I wonder how they raise their children." I muttered, slightly irritated.

"Uh-uh I'm sorry I-" He stuttered. "I just… wanted to hold your hand." He said softly, looking guilty.

I reduced my walking speed a little and looked at him. He turned his head and faced me. There he was, a young man of twenty-nine, his blonde hair swaying from side to side in the cold winter breeze, his cerulean eyes, those innocent, cerulean eyes of a child, gazing into mine. He was wearing black coat and long pants, like how he usually dressed to go to work in the winter. He seemed worried I was angry with him or something, for I could see the distress in his eyes.

"L-look, I'm sorry okay… I really am." He said, worried, and shaking my forearm.

I giggled, to which he replied with an inquisitive look on his face. Len, he was still that innocent on the inside huh?

"No, it's nothing." I told him. "You're just really cute when you go all innocent and boyish like that." I continued, with a chuckle which I covered with my palm out of politeness.

"I'll… never understand girls like you." He said jokingly.

I laughed again, for I was reminded of another time which he said something like that. It was back in seventh grade when he told Rin and I that he will never understand us girls and he would rather be a monk, back in the days when the three of us were growing up, in the courtyards of the great temple in Asakusa.

"You don't have to." I replied, smiling. "Because even if you will never understand me, _I'll still love you._"

I remember seeing him blush deeply and stopping for a while, in the middle of the street, until I had to tug his sleeves so he'll actually make a move for it, since we might be late if he kept standing there.

"Th-thank you… I guess." He muttered softly under his breath.

"There, you're at it again." I told him, grinning.

He sure knows how to make me smile.

"That's what I like about you." I said, and carried on walking.

Len walked briskly until he caught up with me, it wasn't that far of a distance anyway. He was slightly taller than me, so when he stood beside me, the height difference was kind of obvious. Even with my hat, Len-kun was still indisputably taller than me. I remembered how he used to constantly compare his height with Rin and I, back when we were kids.

"So… That can't be the only thing you like about me right?" He asked.

"What if I told you it was?" I replied, trying to sound sweet as possible.

"That would be bad, wouldn't it? Right?" He asked in reply, again that boyishness of him showing, his hand scratching the back of his blonde hair awkwardly.

"No, silly. Of course there are other things I like about you." I replied. "I mean, you're really caring, to me, the kids, to everyone in fact." I told him, a smile curving up my lips.

"Ah, for a moment I thought I failed doing my job as a husband." He said jokingly, to which I replied with a slight giggle.

"Well, Len-kun." I said. "What do you like about me?" I continued.

"Well… You're responsible, sweet and well… you're really… pretty." He said, starting to blush.

"Is that all?" I asked jokingly.

"Other than that, the both of us went through a lot together… Like the earthquake… and how we watched as that Korean girl got dragged out of the temple and just butchered like that…" He replied.

Yes, the Korean girl. Dragged out of the temple's hall, screaming and wailing by a group of enraged men, who were apparently on the rampage to hunt down Koreans after rumours that they were stealing supplies, poisoning wells and plotting against the government began to fly around and soon spread about in the aftermath of September 1st , faster than the firestorm that gutted Tokyo.

I remember her. Megurine Luka, if my memory was not failing me. She was a teenage girl, about fourteen years of age. It was the third night after the quake had struck, dragging a hundred thousand to their demise, and Len, Rin and I were sipping a bowl of steaming soup, shared among the three of us. It was particularly cold that night, as another storm, albeit not as severe as the one that struck on the day of the quake, has decided to make landfall on the battered and ruined city. The three of us were tired out, from all the grief and the chilly weather, and decided to sleep. They were lesser people in the hall today, some had left after the first night, and a few new faces showed up, to receive the hospitality of the nuns and monks of the temple.

I was just about to fall asleep, curled up in the rough grey woollen blanket, snuggled in a corner with the twins, when I was awoken by the loud sound of thunder. I sat up for a moment, my heart beating fast, still reeling from the sudden loud explosion. I looked around the hall, dimly lit with oil lamps carried by the few monks and nuns who have not retired for the night. It was silent; most of the people in the hall were sleeping quietly on the floor. A pair of mother and child were seating against the far wall, the mother gently rubbing the child's back, hushing him to sleep, while the boy, around five years of age, was leaning on his mother's body, his right arm over her stomach. I stared at them, for about the longest time, knowing that I will never be able to be like that boy ever again. I had no mother to lean on, to shower me with love and care, I was all alone now. I don't even know what to do now, the quake was so sudden and everything, _everything_ was taken away from me.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. The abbot, still awake, walked over to the shut heavy oaken door, with a brightly lit oil lamp in his right hand. I was sitting next to the door, so I could hear the knocking pretty clearly. The abbot soon walked near the door and opened it, but not before smiling gently at me. I returned his smile, but he probably didn't see it as, I was hidden by the open door.

"Yes, may I help you?" The abbot asked politely, I don't know how late it was, but I saw a flash of lightning lit up the hall with a glaring flash.

"Please help me… I haven't eaten anything for three days…" said a weak female voice.

"Please come in." the abbot said kindly.

I heard the light footsteps of the newcomer, and then the abbot closed the door behind the both of them. He told the girl to make herself comfortable, while he went to check the temple's kitchens at the back if they had any leftover food. He left, and that's when I saw her, Megurine Luka, for the first time. Even though it was dark, I could see her very clearly. Her long, beautiful salmon hair, albeit being slightly dissheveled fell down her shoulders and hung at her waist. She was pale, and was wearing a dirty and tattered magenta kimono, with deep purple accents. Her tired, grey-blue eyes met my gaze, filled with sorrow and suffering. Without a word, she suddenly walked up to me, kneeled down slowly and hugged me tightly, with whatever energy she had left inside her.

"You- you're still alive!" the older girl sobbed, wetting my thin, fragile shoulders with her tears.

I was surprised and shocked, and I didn't reply. Who was she? Also, she spoke a little differently, maybe she was tired, but I wasn't really too sure about that. After realizing I wasn't responding to her, she released me, held my shoulders and looked at me. She was smiling slightly, tears still rolling down her pale cheeks. However, when her eyes scanned my surprised expression, her smile disappeared from her face, and was replaced with an expression of sadness and disappointment.

"I-I'm sorry, I thought you were my little sister." The girl stuttered, choking on her tears.

She then quickly retracted her arms as quickly as she had wrapped them around me.

"I-I'm really sorry." She repeated, in a somber and weak tone.

She then retreated to herself, leaning against the wall beside me and hugging her knees, just like me when I first sought shelter in the temple not too long ago. She wept, quietly at first, but then gradually it grew into choked hiccups. I just sat there, beside the sleeping twins, staring at her. I was examining her, my eyes scanning her from the tips of her hair to her feet. She was older than me, her legs were slender and she had small breasts. After what seemed like forever, I saw the abbot approaching us, burning oil lamp held in one hand, a bowl of soup in the other hand.

"I'm really sorry, this is all we have." The abbot said to the teenage girl.

"Ah- tha-thank you." Said the girl in reply, receiving the bowl of soup in her arms.

I watched as the girl sat, quietly sipping the cold soup. She realised me, the little girl in cyan ponytails, watching her closely, so she turned her head slightly and looked at me. Then I saw the slightest inch of a smile on her face.

"Do you want some?" she asked me.

I could only nod. I was starving, sharing a bowl of soup between three hungry children twice a day was nowhere near filling. The teenage patted the wooden floor beside her with her free hand, urging me to sit beside her. I obediently complied, I was really hungry anyway. She handed me the wooden bowl of cold soup, and I took a few sips. I looked at her again, intending to return the bowl to her.

"No it's okay. You can go on and finish it up." She said to me, smiling kindly.

I felt bad about it, but since she allowed me too, and given that I was nothing but a starving seven-year old, I drank the soup down to the last sip. When I finished, I placed the wooden bowl on the floor in front of us.

"Thank you very much, _onee-san._" I thanked her, addressing her with the correct honorific for older girls, like how I was taught.

"You're welcome." She said softly. "What's your name, little girl?" she continued.

"Hatsune Miku." I replied, complying.

"I'm Megurine Luka, did you come here alone? Where's your family?" she asked again.

"Luka _onee-san, _I came here by myself." I said.

She seemed satisfied with my answer, and kept silent for a while. Then, suddenly, she looked at me again.

"Miku-chan." She said. "Do you have any siblings?" she continued, probably trying to break the eerie silence between us in the dark and gloomy hall.

"Yes, b-but… he's gone, and so is everyone! _Okaa-san, Otto-san!_" I said, tears pooling in my eyes.

Luka-san's eyes, I could see, were glassy too. She went up to me and hugged me tightly again.

"My family- they're all gone too." she said, sobbing slightly.

The pain was overwhelming, and I felt that at that time, she was the only one who understood my pain, my loss. She soon let go of me, and there we were in the eerie silence again.

"Luka _onee-san_, do you have a little sister?" I asked, this time it was me who tried to start a conversation, I didn't like the gloomy feeling.

"Why, yes." Luka-san replied. "I have a little sister, and you reminded me of her just now… But I guess she's gone forever actually."

I stayed silent for a while. How lucky must that little girl have been? To have an older sister who cares for her and dotes on her, my childish mind thought at that moment. Ever since young, I have always wanted an older sister, one who is caring, gentle and who loves me very much.

"Luka _onee-san_," I said, slowly. "Can I be your little sister?" I continued.

"Sure!" she said, and I saw a grin form on her beautiful face.

My heart felt warm and comforted, and I returned her smile, and hugged her. That cold and chilly night, we both fell asleep together, sharing my rough woollen blanket. I finally felt like I had a family again, and none of this monstrous tragedy had happened.

The next morning, when I woke up, I saw that I was alone in the corner, both Luka-san and the twins were gone, in their place were neatly folded woollen blankets, the one we had been using the previous night. I was confused for a moment, but then I thought to myself, maybe they just left the temple already, perhaps the twins' nanny had come back while I was asleep, and took them away, to safety. I couldn't figure out a theory in my little head for Luka-san though. Then I heard the laughter, the shrill sounds of ecstasy coming through the open door from outside. I took a peek outside, inching my head slightly behind the door.

It was already late morning, and it was really bright outside. On normal days, most well-to-do families would hold picnics in one of the many parks whenever this kind of weather shows itself. The sun was shining in its full glory in the light blue sky, dotted with a few fluffy white clouds. I slowly stepped out of the door and into the courtyard taking small steps at a time, letting the sunlight hit me. I examined my surroundings, taking in everything. The temple was almost undamaged, just that part of the main gate had collapsed, but it wasn't very major. I was like a butterfly just out of its cocoon, looking around me eagerly. I haven't been outside the hall for three days. I walked around for a little bit, but then decided to sit on the stairs leading up to the hall. I was probably there for a few minutes, not really doing anything, before I grew bored, reached out to pick up a small stone I found nearby, before throwing it, watching it bounce with a "clickety-clack" sound on the grey cobblestones of the courtyard, before it stopped moving altogether. I stood up from the steps, walked slowly to the motionless rough stone, and bent down to pick it up, intending to go back to the wooden steps again to repeat the process of hurling the stone at the courtyard, out of boredom.

"Miku-chan!" I heard a loud yet high-pitched voice call me.

I turned around, and I saw Len-kun, together with Rin-chan and Luka-san, ride beside the purification fountain. Len was waving at me and urging me to join them, while Luka-san was watching Rin as she fiddled around with the elaborate ornamental dragons carved in solid iron on the purification fountain. I came up to them as fast as I could, nearly tripping as my sole of my wooden clogs knocked against a groove between two cobblestones.

"Miku-chan, are you okay?" Luka-san asked, caringly. "You nearly tripped back there, are you feeling alright?" she continued.

"Yeah I'm okay, _onee-san._" I replied.

"Ah! You call Luka-san _onee-san _too?" an unfamiliar female voice said.

I turned around to see who it was. It turns out to be the voice of Kagamine Rin, the blonde girl whose straight hair was clipped into place. I looked at her in surprise. This was the first time I heard her speak, she had been silent for the most part for the past three days.

"Yes, she does, Rin-chan…" Luka-san replied before I could.

The two of them then engaged in their own conversation, and before long I saw that the both of them were playing a game of sorts. I looked around for Len, but he was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, I felt someone tap on my back. I turned around, it was Len. He was smiling pretty brightly, like the sun in the sky on that pleasant morning.

"Guess what I found Miku-chan!" he said ecstatically .

I didn't respond, so he slowly opened his cupped right hand, and in it, was a small, lime-green grasshopper. It had short antennae, which was swaying lightly in the morning breeze, other than that, the grasshopper was still as a twig.

"Luka _onee-san_! Rin-chan!" Len called excitedly. "Look at what I found!" he continued, still quivering with excitement.

The two of them came over fairly quickly and soon the three of us were surrounding Len, tiny grasshopper still in his hand. The younger two girls of the group, Rin-chan and I stared in awe at the tiny being.

"Where did you find it Len-kun? It's so cute!" said Rin-chan to her twin brother.

"Well, I found it in front of the stairs over there." He said, pointing to the wooden steps leading to the main hall, which I have been seated on a few minute ago, throwing the rock at the courtyard aimlessly.

"That's strange." I said, to which both the Kagamine twins looked at me with their seemingly identical cerulean eyes filled with wonder. "My mother told me that grasshoppers only lived in the grass and hid there because if they didn't, they'll get eaten by birds." I continued, remembering what my mother told me a few months back when I spotted a grasshopper in our yard.

"What a strange little grasshopper." Len-kun said innocently.

From the corner of my eye I could see Luka-san, her salmon hair fluttering in the gentle breeze, observing us. If I wasn't mistaken, I could see a faint smile rest upon her lips. I turned around and faced her, to ask her why she was doing that, since at that time and age I didn't find grasshoppers acting strangely as a thing to smile about.

"Luka _onee-san, _why are you smiling?" I asked her, tilting my head slightly in curiousity.

"Ah, it's nothing…" She said. "It's just that… The three of you remind me of my little siblings." she continued, in a dismal and sombre tone.

"Well, can I be your big sister?" Luka-san suddenly asked.

"Sure!" the twins chirped in unison.

Both Rin and Len then rushed up to Luka-san and hugged her. I, standing behind them, went up to join them too. We hugged for about a good twenty seconds before we all finally let go.

"We can be our own family now." Luka-san joked, but for the three of us kids, we really took that seriously, owing to the fact that, we didn't have any real families anymore.

Although it was something that could be counted as a child's role play or even a fantasy even, the fact that what happened later really made me appreciate the time we spent together, even though it may only amount up to a short time, our time spent together as a "family".

Two days passed since that event at the courtyard, and the four of us were sipping away at our bowls of soup for lunch. We were given two bowls to be shared among the four of us. At least we got bigger portions, instead of just a miserable third of a bowl that we survived on for the first three days. I could safely say that we received more since there were considerably lesser people seeking shelter at the temple now. Most have left, probably to look for lost loved ones or to salvage for anything usable amidst the ruins of their collapsed homes and dwellings.

The four of us were seated on the steps, facing the courtyard. The smell of burning incense filled the entire atmosphere of the temple. We decided to have our lunch since the hall is now cramped with devotees praying to alleviate their suffering. Recently, the temple has been crowded, with people coming from all over Tokyo to pray, for their dead loved ones, for themselves. Being silent the whole while, I decided to start up a lunchtime conversation. It was a conversation I would never forget.

"Luka _onee-san?_" I suddenly asked.

"Yes, Miku-chan?" Luka-san replied, putting down her empty bowl of soup she shared with me on the floor beside her.

"Are you from around here? You talk a bit differently." I asked, it was true though, she did have an accent.

"Miku-chan…" she said, slowly. "Well I come from Korea, my family moved to Tokyo about three years ago." She said.

"Why? Why did you move, Luka _onee-san_?" Len suddenly interjected.

"Well you see, Japan took away all our rice in Korea, so we had to move to Tokyo since there was no food." Luka-san replied.

"Why did Japan take away all your rice in Korea?" Len asked again, curiosity evident in his tone.

"Let's not talk about that shall we." Luka-san said, ending the conversation.

Although she smiled slightly while saying that, I could tell that she was hiding something that she didn't want to tell us about. Her suffering.

That late afternoon, we were in the hall again, the rays of afternoon sun streaming into the hall from the open door. There were plenty of people in the hall, all kneeling in front of the altar, some placing offerings on it quietly. The entire hall was filled with the sound of religious humming and chanting under heavy breaths. The three of us got a little rowdy while playing in the corner of the hall, and Luka-san had to tell us to keep quiet and reprimand us, speaking in her accented Japanese. This earned some hard and cold stares from the crowd, and then whispering began to ensue.

"What? A Korean? Where!?" somebody shouted.

The atmosphere in the hall began to get more tense. More and more people began whispering to each other, and some people stood up, looking for the Korean. Soon, commotion began to break out in the once tranquil hall of the temple.

"Where's the Korean? I'll teach them a lesson for poisoning our wells and looting!" a man, dressed in a soldier's uniform said.

"Yes, and how they set some of the houses on fire!" Another gruff voice said.

I watched as some of the men stood up, and looked around the hall, turning their heads frantically, rage evidently etched on their faces, as if some demon had possessed all of them and told them to play a game of "I spy".

Probably someone told them that Luka-san was Korean, for suddenly about five men marched to the other side of the hall where we were at, setting their aim straight for Luka-san. A burly man, dressed in a ragged shirt and pants, grabbed her by the shoulders, and in her face, he coldly hissed:

"You ghastly thing, you deserve death, like the rest of them."

With that he violently tugged her. Luka-san screamed hysterically and struggled, but soon three men restrained her and as much as she kicked and flailed, she was still being slowly dragged out of the room.

"Help me! Somebody, please help me!" Luka-san screamed.

Nobody moved a muscle, the kneeled congregation did nothing to help her. Some just watched as the innocent girl was dragged across the room. Most, just continued to face the altar, and continued their chanting in hushed, murmured voices, not even bothering to care about the salmon-haired girl.

I rushed to the men. I grabbed the sleeve of the man in the soldier's uniform, he was the closest of Luka-san's assailants to me.

"Please, please let her go! She's my _onee-san!_" I begged, my voice shaking.

"Oh, so you're Korean too?" the soldier asked in a harsh tone. "Come here you little vermin!" he continued, dragging my wrist.

"No." Luka-san said softly. "No she's not! She's just… a friend." She continued, and I could see tears falling down her pale cheeks.

The soldier, probably seeing the truth in her words, and realising I spoke perfect, fluent, Tokyoite Japanese, changed his expression to a gentler one. He kneeled down and spoke to me.

"Little girl, please be careful. These Koreans are bad people." He advised me. "Now go back and play with your friends over there." He continued, and followed Luka-san's assailants into the courtyard.

I had just taken a few steps towards the corner where the twins were seated, still reeling from shock of the blatant assault on Luka-san when suddenly I heard the most shrill, blood-curdling scream I have ever heard in my life. I rushed to the door, and so did the twins. What I saw, will be etched in my memory forever.

The men had started to assault Luka-san, beating her with their fists bloody. The poor girl was screaming for her life, yet nobody, not even a single soul bothered to even look at her. The people in the hall kept on praying and chanting, while the people in the courtyard just went on with their daily business. One of Luka's assailants kicked her, and she fell onto the ground. Her attackers closed in on her, not showing any mercy at all. She was brutally kicked, beaten and bludgeoned, and all this while she was screaming at the top of her lungs. One of her attackers even took a metal rod, which god knows how he obtained, and began to whack her with all his strength. As the attacks got more violent, her wailing became softer whimpers and finally when the assailants walked away, satisfied with what they have just done, the poor girl's moans of agony were reduced to the lamenting meows of a kitten. When her assailants were gone, the three of us ran down the steps to her, as fast as our legs could carry us down the stairs, to where Luka-san was.

The pitiful girl was covered in blood, and puddles of dark crimson were forming below her. She was covered in bruises and cuts, and her neck was at a disturbingly unnatural angle with her head. Her salmon hair, all a mess now, was soaking up blood and was turning more fuchsia-like. I shook her forearm, but she didn't budge at all. Tears formed in my eyes. I knew it was too late, I knew she was gone. What has she ever done? She was my _onee-san_…

_Who are truly the bad people?_

I fell silent for a while after Len mentioned her, thinking to myself about all those painful memories. The bitter memory of seeing her die, beaten to death in front of our very eyes. I took a deep breath.

"Hey, umm… I'm sorry if I mentioned about Luka-san…" Len quickly apologised, knowing that Luka-san meant a lot to me, since I didn't have any family members left at all, while Len-kun still had his twin sister.

"It's alright," I said, wiping the solitary tear of my cheek with my sleeve.

We continued walking down the street, exiting Yoshiwara and entering the livelier, wealthier main street of Asakusa, in the Bunkyo ward. The buildings were different, most of them were modern, stone buildings, adapted from the architecture of Western cities in the rapid modernisation that followed in the wake of the quake. We didn't talk much, but I could remember him walking, his wrist firmly tugged at my long sleeve, but I didn't mind. I guess he didn't realise that I kind of knew he did that, because usually I would reprimand him for doing that in public, but well, since he was going to leave in a matter of days, I stayed silent, letting him continue. We weren't going to be seeing each other until the end of the war, and God knows when's that going to happen. Every single day, the radio blares propaganda of the military government, messages from the Emperor and such. Life was getting harsh, the food was getting lesser in abundance. It was apparent that we were losing the war, ever since the precision bombing air raids started. It gave the people the sense of fear, but soon, people grew accustomed to it, and were still continuing their lives as per normal, even though the impending threat from the sky was imminent. But still, no one dare uttered anything about Japan losing the war, for we might be arrested by the military police for saying such and put in jail.

We finally reached Asakusa station, the stone-brick European-styled building. It was completed a few years after the quake, when the three of us were living in the temple. We were passing the area everyday on our trip to and fro from school which was about ten minutes' walk, so we saw every little stage of the construction. Len would occasionally comment at its progress, after observing it every day for the entire period of the construction. To be honest, we were pretty excited seeing the building in its final stages, we were pretty excited about the entire reconstruction of the entire city to be honest. It was pretty exhilarating to see new stone buildings in the place of what used to be traditional wooden houses, which could get pretty boring, I find. Now, new stone buildings, especially east of the Sumida River were springing up like mushrooms, the outcome of progress and modernisation.

We walked into the station, where I worked, I had to report to the stationmaster to begin my shift, but we were ten minutes early for my shift to begin and Len's train was in five minutes, so I guess I could send him off then.

Asakusa station was already packed by the time we arrived, people were beginning to commute to the more built-up and commercial districts around Ginza, where a lot of people work, in offices, municipal buildings, banks, the sort. The platform was full of people waiting for the eight-fifty train, the train Len had to take. He could have gotten out later to take the nine o'clock train at the station nearer to our house, but well, we had only a few days left together, so well, I don't mind. In fact, in my heart, I _wanted _him to come along.

Soon enough, when the large clock at the platform struck eight-fifty, the station's bell began to chime, signalling that the train was arriving. Some people who were seated down, stood up, those who were reading their morning paper folded them and put them in their bags, or held them, rolled, in their fists. The smell of soot and white smoke filled the air, shrouding the platform with a light fog. The train stopped with a screech , and then a shrill whistle blew from the end of the platform, as such was the norm, signalling the train driver to open the train doors. Upon doing that, a flood of people rushed out, and double the number tried to get in. I looked at Len-kun, and he looked at me. In the whirlpool of commuters in the platform, we were just standing there, as if we were in our own world.

"Well, you should go now." I said plainly, looking at him.

"Yeah… See you later!" He said with a sincere smile, revealing rows of straight white teeth.

Len-kun waved at me, before turning around, leaving me. However, he only took a few steps, almost disappearing into the sea of people, when suddenly, he abruptly turned around briskly walked up to me, took off my hat and quickly gave me a brisk kiss on my forehead. I was taken by surprise, but fortunately, within the storm of rushing souls, no one noticed. His lips felt soft and warm on my cold forehead. It felt really nice, he was so sweet, but it ended as soon as it began, turning my joy and surprise into a cold feeling of longing. With that, he jokingly placed my hat low, pushing it down so that the visor would cover my eyes, to which I just simply pushed back up.

"Well, I hope you make something great for dinner!" he shouted, waving to me as he managed to squeeze into the already packed train, just barely being able to stand right behind the where the glass door would close shut in the passenger carriage.

I waved back, and soon the shrill high-pitched whistle coming from the end of the platform blew, filling the entire atmosphere of the platform with that piercing sound. If one was in a state of daydream, just the sound of it would be enough to give him a massive shock. The whistle blew again, this time in a higher pitch than before. The whistle blower must have been running out of breath, the last blow ended prematurely, the shrill sound beginning to suddenly dip softer and weaker. Well… it just reminded me of…

No, don't think of that, I told myself. I refused to allow such painful memories to ruin my last few days together with Len. It might be a while before I get to see him again, so I'd better make the best out of this little time that we have left together.

The train's engine began to chug, and the blaring of the train's horn, louder than the piercing whistle, nearly took the breath out of me. But I guess I'll get accustomed to it. I have to, anyway, if I have any intention to keep on working at this place. White smoke began to float through the platform, emitted from the train's chimney. I don't know what made me do what I did at that time, but I did. My legs suddenly carried me off, and I just ran, chasing the train down the platform, running side by side with the door Len-kun was squeezed again. I waved at him, and smiled, to which he replied with yet another of his nicest smiles I've ever seen, being the sweet guy I've known since young, and whom I am married to. I halted as I reached the end of the platform, since I couldn't have run any further, and besides, my shift would be starting soon. If not, I would have probably kept chasing that train forever, just so I could enjoy that feeling, without having to fear and end to it.

I watched as the train chugged down the tracks, watching the snow-white steam float up into the sky, amid the background of the stone buildings and the towering snow-capped Mount Fuji in the background, on that cold winter morning.

I just couldn't imagine life with him gone.

I simply couldn't.


End file.
